Eucalyptus crucis subsp. crucis  |  

Eucalyptus crucis subsp. crucis, Family Myrtaceae, also known as Silver Mallee and
Southern Cross Mallee, is an effuse (spreads out loosely) mallee growing to 6 m tall with
imperfectly decorticated, crisped ÔMinni RitchiÕ (flaky and dense) bark on stems to about
10 cm diameter. Young branchlets are smooth and white with a waxy coating. Seedling and
juvenile leaves remaining opposite for many nodes, and are stalkless, circular or broader than
long, and conspicuously mucronate (pointed). They grow to 5 by 4 cm, with tiny black oil
dots, and are greyish-green in colour. Intermediate leaves are opposite or sub-opposite, sub sessile or shortly (0.5 to 3.5 mm) and distinctly petiolate, oval shaped, to 6.5 by 5.5 cm, and
grey-green (Brooker & Hopper, 1982). Flowering occurs from December to March (Brown et
al., 1998).
Maiden (1923) described Eucalyptus crucis as distinguished by its capsular disc with the rim
much incurved, mature leaves rather thick, very shortly petiolate, from lanceolate to nearly
ovoid and ovoid-lanceolate. However, Brooker and Hopper (1982) examined specimens that
were obviously related to, yet clearly distinct from, the typical E. crucis. They were large
erect-stemmed mallees with the canopy consisting only of true lanceolate adult leaves that
were distinctly petiolate. Eucalyptus crucis subsp. crucis retains the more or less stalkless
oval to rounded juvenile leaves on the adult plant, whereas in Narrow-leaved Silver Mallee
(E. crucis subsp. lanceolata), the juvenile leaves are lost and the mature plant has narrow,
tapering leaves (Brown et al., 1998). In Paynes Find Mallee (E. crucis subsp. praecipua), the
leaves, buds and fruits are larger than Narrow-leaved Silver Mallee (Brooker & Hopper,
1993).